Intolerance Watchtower Style

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This is how the Watchtower organization depicts bigots who are intolerant toward individuals holding unpopular religious views[1]:

The image illustrates a man being stoned to death for daring to openly share a religious view contrary to popular opinion or teaching.

Does Watchtower behave differently?

The Watchtower organization maintains and enforces an organized communal shunning program it compares with the ancient religious practice of stoning individuals to death. Watchtower uses the terms disfellowship and disassociation to depict its policy.

Did early Christians practice something comparable with stoning?

The biblical depiction of early Christians shows a society where stoning was practiced openly. Early Christians were among those stoned to death for holding and sharing their belief.

Despite ancient societies allowing its citizenry to practice stoning, there is no biblical record of Christians using this method as though it somehow compares with the form of internal discipline it did practice.

Had early Christians thought stoning was an appropriate reaction to various inappropriate conducts they could have and would have acted accordingly. But they did not react this way, and there is no indication they were taught to react this way.

It does not take much imagination to conclude early Christians would have been highly offended had a teacher then attempted to suggest its internal disciplinary measures had any semblance of comparison to stoning folks to death, yet this is precisely the comparison Watchtower asserts to underpin the harshness of its shunning program.

Watchtower betrays itself

Contrary to how Watchtower wants it religion to be perceived, by attempting to justify the harshness of its shunning program (by comparing it with stoning people to death) Watchtower betrays a thoroughly unchristian disposition.

Early Christians did not resort to stoning—when they could have—and the shunning they did practice was not one whereby an individual was viewed as dead.

The following image shares again Watchtower's own portral of inappropriate behavior toward individuals who hold a different religious view. It shows a man being literally stoned to death for daring to share his views contrary to then commonly held religious positions.

As it turns out, Watchtower has its own special policy it compares with stoning people to death for the crime of individuals sharing their views contrary to whatever religious position it is teaching at the time. This policy it terms as disfellowship and/or disassociation.

Watchtower has these individuals branded as apostates and subjected to its version of stoning. Watchtower effectively stones such members among Jehovah’s Witnesses by having local elders impose upon these its organized communal shunning policy whereby other Witnesses must treat the individual as though dead or else suffer the same fate for themselves.[2-4]

Watchtower has become what it condemned in the image and article associated with that illustration in its well written and reasoned article published in 1958. The men throwing stones in that image are, in effect, Watchtower’s top leadership.

This author prays for the day when Watchtower ceases its policy that is harsh to the point of being unchristian.

Marvin Shilmer
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References

1. The Watchtower, June 8, 1958, p.5.

2. Cruelty and Threat — Shunning and Watchtower

3. Watchtower’s Judicial System

4. S-77 and S-79 Disfellowshipping and Disassociation forms

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